Ara Leopard
by TwisterF5
Summary: The Strawhats are on their way towards Arabasta when an unexpected island grabs their attention. The rumoured prisoner immediately captures the captain's interest which leads to a series of both fortunate and unfortunate events! OC!
1. Chapter 1, Flu Shot

**Ara Leopard Chapter 1: Flu Shot **

******AN: Well, I kind of got this idea when I posted my first fanfiction. So now I have two to handle, but I will do my best to manage. If someone likes it, please let me know :D Also, please write your honest opinion, it would be greatly appreciated and feel free to correct my English. As I said on my first fanfiction, all reviewers/reviews will be respected (well, not flamers).**

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"Kites are rising in the sky, catching fair winds far up high. Rise and rise to the clouds that float, fly high up in the sky…" a hoarse voice died out in the deep.

Marine guards patrolling on higher levels listened as the last echoes of the song thinned out and everything became silent once more. Not long after, however, the little voice started again. "Kites are neat in the sky, dancing, leaping way up high. Rising to the white clouds, fly high up in the sky…"

The guard closest to the railing looked down letting out a grim sigh. "There she goes again! Think she's finally lost it?" he turned towards his comrade who had an annoyed frown upon his face.

"It wouldn't surprise me, keh! Someone should teach her something new already. She's been singing that blasted song for years now!"

The two guards continued their duty, now and then glancing warily down the darkness as if hoping to see something. "You know, Kaien..." the first one spoke, "I heard that this hole is so deep that if you go down and look up, you would see a sky full of stars in the middle of the day." When finishing his sentence he let out a nervous laugh.

Kaien halted abruptly.

"If you are thinking of switching our patrols with those guys on the lower levels, then I advice you to forget it! I won't go near that monster – do you have any idea what measures that had to be taken in order to even keep her down there?" he wheezed through his teeth. Though Kaien was intrigued by the rumor it wouldn't matter. He treasured his life far too much to take such a chance. No further words were spoken between the two men and their work continued normally.

"Falling, falling is the kite. Run and run…"

~..~

A blue-nosed reindeer was happily skipping around onboard the deck of the Going Merry. The day had stared out with good winds in the sails and a lovely, waking sun that warmed nicely. An unexpected shadow caused the jolly reindeer to freeze as his eyes widened comically at the sight. Trembling, the creature turned towards the back of the ship and hollered:

"LUFFY! Everybody! Come quick!"

Doors could be heard opened and slammed shut. Footsteps came and halted as they saw whatever it was that frightened the reindeer so. "Chopper, what is…" a man lighting a cigarette began, but his words soon faltered.

Right before the ship a high mountain rose above them, and at the very top there could be seen a cylinder shaped construction with the marks of the navy. The mere presence seemed to give an ominous feeling and a thick tension was floating in the air. A sudden gasp broke the silence…

"Oh no…"

"Vivi, what is it? Do you know this place?" an orange haired woman, known as Nami, asked her friend. Everyone's attention was now focused on the young girl whose hand still covered her mouth.

"Yeah Vivi, is it cool? Perhaps some adventures, oh, or some treasures?" a boy wearing a straw hat laughed. He seemed genuinely happy to come across such a gloomy place. Considering that they were pirates, the Marine facility posed a great danger to them. That, however, never seemed to bother the captain of the Going Merry.

Vivi brushed a few strands of light-blue hair behind her ears and continued to gaze upon the dark shape. "I was hoping we wouldn't come across this place!"

Nami, now quite puzzled, gave a heavy sigh. "What do you mean? This is an island and… an island? I though our log-pose was set on Arabasta?"

Vivi turned her back towards her friends, "I know… I mean it is... but this place is actually an artificial island if I'm not mistaking. The memories are vague, but nine years ago the Marines asked my father if it would be agreeable to build this place not too far from our kingdom." She drew breath and prepared to continue. "Father told me that this prison holds a criminal, yet no one seems to know what she is held accountable for! Someone says she's a mons…"

"Awesome! Hey everyone, let's make her our nakama!"

Silence…

"WHAT?" the whole crew turned towards the speaker. Luffy, who was currently twirling his straw hat, only grinned merrily at his seemingly brilliant idea. Nami, on the other hand, was ready to explode. The captain's craziness had gone too far this time!

"Let's do it! It'll be just like with Zoro!" Luffy looked over at the swordsman who was yawning slightly. "Or what do you think, Zoro? I'm sure she's a good person, just like you!"

"Mah, do as you like, I'm going back to sleep." Zoro mumbled scratching his chest and started walking away towards the men's sleeping quarters. "Lazy ass moss-head!" murmured the blond gentleman. The swordsman stopped right in his steps and gave his nakama a deathly glare. "What did you say, you pathetic love-cook!"

'THWACK'

This idiocy had gone on far enough for the navigator, as she gave both Sanji and Zoro a solid smack on their heads, "Stop this nonsense! Oh, and would someone please wake up Usopp? He's passed out on the deck again." A boy with a long nose, quite unusual in a normal perspective, laid spread out on the wooden floor. "Monster… joins… crew…" could be heard through his quiet rambling.

Nami groaned and turned her attention at her captain once again, "Now Luffy, you have to reconsi… eh… Luffy?"

"Gomu Gomu nooo…"

Nami swallowed audibly and looked up towards the crows nest. _Why me?_

On Luffy's back Chopper was neatly positioned, clinging around his captain's neck. A look of panic dawned upon his face as he realized what Luffy was about to do. "…pistol!" Luffy's rubber arm shot towards the building and when he caught the edge of the prison, both he and the ship's doctor flew off before the crew's eyes.

"Luffy… YOU IDIOT!"

~..~

"Yahooo!" Luffy cried out as he soared through the air. Chopper was panicking, and it was bad. Several times before had he experienced certain doom facing Doctorine's anger, but this was something else. In a mere second, however, the panic cased to exist from his mind as he noticed the strange outer design of the building. The cylinder shaped prison was, oddly enough, built without any form of roof. At that moment the feeling of panic gladly returned. They were heading straight towards what seemed to be a bottomless pit.

A strangled scream managed to escape from his mouth and he glued himself to Luffy's head. Smoothly, though loudly, they fell down the hole.

'Craboom' - 'Beep, beep, beep'

The alarm…

"Attention marines, we are under attack. All Marines are to report to their positions. I repeat, we are under an attack. All Marines are to report to their positions." The orders were heard loud and clear throughout the prison.

A man, whose attire clearly spoke of his authority, began throwing instructions at those who were to retrieve the presumed dead bodies at the bottom of the prison. He was middle aged man whose eyes spoke of many years of experience. When the orders were given, however, no Marine moved an inch. "What is wrong with you weaklings? No one could survive a fall like that!" he hollered out to his men. When no one answered, the Marine Commodore raged. "Well?"

Trembling, one man stepped forward to salute his Commodore. "Sir, there is but one problem, sir!" The Marine Commodore only raised his eyebrows. _These rats are truly testing my patience today!_ "Marine, state your name and purpose for not going down there to retrieve those bodies, which I might remind you was a direct order form your superior!"

With a harsh swallow the Marine continued. "Sir, the name is Tearos Kain. It's just that, s-she is down there sir. Something might have happened, what if she's gotten lo…" he never got to finish his sentence before his Commodore cut him off.

"She! She, whom you speak of, is not able to move one muscle in her entire body. Now, if those bodies are not here within the hour I'll hold you personally responsible! Also, set out some ships to patrol the sea area. Whoever's down there didn't come alone!" He finished roughly and marched towards his office.

"Sir, yes sir!"

~..~

"Luffy *cough*" the little reindeer's nostrils and airways were filled with dust. Shaken, he managed to stand up on wobbling hooves. Frantically he began his search for Luffy and to his luck he was right there beside him.

Asleep…

After a quick check to see if his Captain had received any injuries, Chopper could let out a relived sigh and started to look around. The room was dark, with a small torch hanging on the wall as the only light source. Chopper turned his head upwards, surprised not to see the blue sky high above them. _Stars? _

"Kites are rising in the sky, catching fair winds far up high… holy mother of fudge, I'm bored!"

"GAH…" Chopper began before he smothered the rest of his cry. Someone was there, he was not alone! _I'm only a tiny reindeer. Who would want to hurt me, ehehe! _Slowly, but steadily, Chopper turned around to face the strange. "I will n-not be afraid of y-you… huh?"

The sight that met the doctor's eyes was an odd one indeed. A girl, a young girl was sitting before him in a kneeling position, attired in a strange metal armour. Her hands were pulled to each of her sides, tightened at place with heavy chains.

"Kites, kites and more kites…" With a slight twitch, her head began to tilt upwards. Soon she was staring straight into the eyes of the blue-nosed reindeer. "Oh… Uhm… Gomen! I'm usually not the most intelligent person when caught in the middle of singing a silly song, heh." She croaked out.

Chopper continued to gaze at the girl. She was thin, clearly suffering from the lack of nutrition and sunlight. Her hair was impossible to determine because of the weak light the torch provided, but Chopper presumed the colour swayed between dark brown to black. The only thing he was able to properly determine was her eyes, yellow eyes. Gentle, big eyes stared back at him, patient for what was to come next. At that moment realization dawned upon Chopper. This was the rumoured monster of the deep!

"Ano, reindeer-san… Are you a doctor?" Chopper was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts by the unexpected question. "That mark on your hat, it means you're a doctor right?" she asked quietly.

"Ah, yes! That's right, true, I'm a doctor. Ehm, my name is Tony Tony Chopper… and yours?" A small, but genuine smile appeared on her face, "Leapos Reyla!" Silence fell between them as they continued to simply look at each other for a while longer. Chopper began to fidget slightly beneath her gaze, though it consisted only of pure curiosity.

"That armour... isn't it uncomfortable?" Chopper hesitantly asked. Reyla's smile turned bitter as she looked down the metal attire. "It keeps me from moving. See these small holes covering the surface?" Chopper could only give a nod. The holes had gone unnoticed to him before she pointed them out.

"In each hole, there is a… um… lock of some sorts. It puts a certain amount of pressure and paralyzes several nerves in my body, at least that's what I've heard the guards say." Her voice was calm, yet there was a certain edge beneath it as she finished the sentence. The reindeer couldn't help but feel a deep sympathy for the girl. Was she truly that terrifying? In his past, whem meeting with Wapol, it had felt completely different.

Reyla kept looking at him. "Hey, Chopper-kun? You wouldn't mind giving me a flu shot would you?"

...

"A flu shot?"

"Yeah, flu shot!"

Chopper was puzzled, however, denying her request was completely out of question. From his blue backpack he fished out what he had of medical equipment. _Flu shot, flu shot, aha! Here it is! Wait... since when do I carry around flu shots in my bag? _His own actions were truly confusing. As the shot was prepared he started to clean her arm. "So that there won't be any infections." he explained to her. Luckily the damned-armour, as Reyla charmingly had dubbed it, only reached until her elbow so injecting the vaccine would not be a difficult task.

Strangely enough, Relya seemed happy at the sight of the needle. "Chopper-kun, let me see that." she asked after being injected with the fluid. He noticed her looking at the needle. "Um yeah, but how are you…" suddenly he felt something soft and silky slip around the hoof he was holding the needle in. A tail? Before Chopper could even process what had happened in his mind, the armour was falling apart hitting the ground together with the chains.

"Thank you, Chopper-kun" Reyla bent forwards giving his little blue nose a peck. "I feel much better now!"

...

_Did I just help her escape? _

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**AN: I hope you all liked it. **_  
_


	2. Chapter 2, Freedom

**AN: So here it is, my second chapter. This is a little shorter than the first one, and I will probably keep it around 1,500 words each chapter from now on. If you like, please comment :D It would really make my day. Oh, and if you see any mistakes (grammar, words, etc) feel free to correct them. I would greatly appreciate it! **

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Chopper just stood there, uncertain of what he had done. _How… what? What have I done? Luffy's not awake yet! _ Right before him Reyla was doing a series of stretches whose fine line and movements were quite similar to those of a feline. She continued by letting out a deep yawn and studied the familiar surroundings.

"G-gomuhuh, itee…"

Reyla's head snapped up and located the source of the sound. Chopper turned his head to where she was looking, his captain was finally waking up. The doctor watched as Reyla went over to Luffy. _KYAAAAH! What should I do? She won't hurt him, or? _With light steps Reyla reached the sleeping Luffy. Quietly she bent down and started poking him lightly.

'Poke'

'Poke, poke'

'Poke, poke, poke'

"Gih, hehehe…" Luffy started squirming. "S-stop that, haha, it tickles!"

Suddenly, to both Chopper and Reyla's surprise, the boy quickly shot up, staring at Reyla intently. Much like the situation earlier with Chopper, Reyla stared back with a small grin on her face. Luffy happily returned her grin with a 100 watt smile that could light up even the darkest of nights.

"Hey, I found you." He rejoiced. "Join my crew, become my nakama!" Chopper, as always, was amazed by his captain's words and actions. He hadn't even confirmed that she was the person he sought. _His instincts perhaps? The sea truly is a mysterious place…_

Reyla, who remained silent, had a confused look upon her face. The term nakama was something she hadn't heard for a few years. Though the word implied a good meaning, it only brought sad and strange feelings upon her. The years of solitude had been lonely… horrible… she never wanted to go through that again. She wanted to be safe.

"Yeah, sure!" she replied calmly.

The three sat there in a surprisingly comfortable silence, unaware of the commotion going on above them. As the second round of the alarm broke out, Reyla stood up and looked towards her way to freedom. Soon she would be out, soon she would see the beautiful, blue ocean once more.

"So… any idea on how we get out, uh, what was your name?" she asked her newly declared captain.

"My name is Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's going to become the Pirate King!" he proudly answered. Reyla smiled at this. Though his ambitions were thought to be impossible for even the strongest of men, she admired his honest reply.

Luffy got up on his feet as he brushed the dust of his straw-hat and red vest. "Now then…" he began.

"Gomu gomu noo…" _Oh dear, not this again. _Chopper thought to himself. _I wonder... will I survive this time?_ He looked at Reyla who seemed to be puzzled by her captain's actions.

"…pistol!" His arm shot towards what seemed to be the night sky. _Paramecia type huh? Strangely enough it suits him. _Reyla could see where this was going. Before Chopper became aware of her actions, she had picked him up and was holding him with her right arm, whereas the other slipped around Luffy's neck. And so… they were off.

Reyla felt a surge of relief and happiness when the sunlight bathed on her face. How many years had it been since she had felt the wind in her hair? Not far from the island she could see a ship, whose skull mark was wearing a straw-hat, surrounded by several Marine ships. "Captain, go help your friends, I'm getting off here." Only seconds later she was falling towards the hoard of Marines, ready with guns in order to restrain her.

"Reyla!" both Luffy and Chopper shouted.

She only smiled back at them, giving a small wink. "Don't worry, I'll catch up with you, it's a promise!" she cried out.

"Hahaha! You better keep that promise, Reyla!" Luffy hollered.

"Kites are flying in the sky…" Reyla merrily sung to herself. "Falling, falling is the kite. Run, run away…"

~..~

Tearos Kain swallowed audibly. He saw her clear as day, falling towards them. Surely she couldn't survive such a fall? With grace that seemed unimaginable, Reyla landed upon her two feet. No sound was heard as she made contact with the ground.

Silence…

Reyla now faced the Marines and was surprised with the sight that met her. _These are rookies! So this is what they think of me? A simple guarding job is all that I can offer? Why didn't they even bother building this place with *****Kairouseki? _A low growl erupted from her throat. Instincts that she had thought were long gone rose to the surface. The years of paralysation surely had made her former skills rusty, but underestimating your enemy was never a good idea, not even for these foolish Marines.

Though the ones she was taking on now were rookies, she knew a Marine Commodore ruled this place. She wouldn't be able to take on one with his skill level, not in her weakened state, perhaps not even with her original. This had to be done now and fast!

"For too long you have kept me her…" a strangled whisper came from her. Tears were running down her cheeks, but not of sadness. She would never return to this damned place, never in her lifetime. It was quite at random that she noticed the barrels marked with the letters "Gunpowder" which caused a convenient idea to enter her mind.

"SHOOT HER, shoot her now!"

Gunshots were heard…

She crouched…

"*****Soru!"

~..~

'Crash'

Back on Going Merry the awaited Captain had finally returned to a frustrated, angry and very unhappy crew. After Nami had severely injured her Captain to her satisfaction, she could return her focus to the situation at hand. Going Merry was surrounded by 5 Marine ships, all heavily armed and ready for battle. It was a challenge, but she hadn't come this far for everything to end here. Zoro and Sanji were currently trying to hold of the countless of cannonballs fired towards them.

Vivi, who was uncertain of what to do in this commotion, looked towards Luffy. "Did you… find anyone?" The fact that Luffy had returned with only Chopper made her feel relieved, yet one could never know considering he was the one in charge. Poor Chopper had fainted in a corner and Usopp quickly went to his aid.

"Ah, yeah we found her! She's interesting, with a tail and odd ears too I think! Haha, I can't wait for you guys to meet her!"

Vivi gasped, how could this be? Nami, overhearing their conversation, hurriedly went over to her captain.

"What do you mean you found her? Where is she then? Is she even…" Nami didn't make it to the end of sentence before a loud noise could be heard from the Marine facility.

'KABOOM'

A massive explosion erupted from atop of the prison and adorned the sky with red flames. All attacks were put on halt as both the Marines and the crew looked towards the prison. Swiftly, someone could be seen moving downwards the black rocks that surrounded the facility, and with a neat jump the stranger suddenly found herself onboard the Going Merry.

An awkward silence filled the air, but was soon interrupted by another attack from the Marines.

Nami let out a loud groan, "Let's just get out of here!"

~..~

3 hours of evading, fighting and escaping later, the crew could finally relax. There was no sign of any Marines, neither were there any further attacks. Zoro, who for once didn't sleep during a massive elope, took this opportunity to study their new crew member.

She was thin, which was obvious to the eye. Her hair was moderately short and the colouring was uncommon, not that he was any different. Zoro gave out a sigh as he let a hand run through his moss-green hair.

An odd spotted pattern covered her head and rather than having human ears, she had those of a leopard. Her tail seemed to match her hair and reached slightly further than her heels, starting to curl as it reached the ground. What stroke Zoro as odd in this case was that she didn't have the usual colourings of a leopard, the golden yellow, but was of the white-grey'ish kind. _A fruit user? _The swordsman pondered. She was short, merely reaching up to his shoulders. Her clothing was those of a prisoner and seemed to be made of a horribly uncomfortable material.

Yellow, round plated eyes seemed to study the crew as they all took in each others appearances. Suddenly Reyla noticed Chopper out cold in the corner.

"Chopper?" with haste she went and crouched down beside him. Usopp, being the careful person he was, gave out a little yelp and backed away as she appeared next to him. Both Usopp and the rest of the crew were surprised by the already genuine affection she showed towards the little reindeer, and let her do as she pleased. Gently, Reyla managed to shake him awake and helped him stand up on his hooves.

"Yosh, you guys. This is… this is…" Luffy looked towards his new friend with a blank face.

Reyla could only laugh… a tired, happy laugh. During all the excitement she had forgotten to giver her new Captain her name. She looked at the crew and cleared her soar throat.

"My name is Leapos Reyla! Looks like I'll be sailing with you guys from now on!"

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**End of Chapter 2**

**AN: So, what do you think? Oh, and if you're wondering;**

*******Kairōseki** (海楼石, Seastone), called **Sea-Prism Stone** in the English version, is a naturally occurring (though apparently rare) substance that can cancel out Devil Fruit powers.

*******Soru will get an explanation later! Of course, there are those who know what it is, and so you might predict what's going to happen in the future. **


	3. Chapter 3, Explanations

**AN: I'm sorry that I'm so horribly slow at updating. As allways, comments are greatly appreciated and please do tell if you see any errors in my writing. Also, note that in the first chapter Vivi mentioned that the prison was built 9 years ago. I figured it kind of took two years to build considering it's an artificial island. Furthermore it was not meant for Reyla specifically.**

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The crew members aboard the Going Merry had all wanted to find out more about the newcomer. Sanji, however, wouldn't allow any questioning! The moment she had jumped on the deck all he saw was a malnourished young woman! Beneath his swoony demeanor he was furious that any lady had been treated this way!

"This is for my sweet *neko-chan!" Sanji smoothly said and finished setting the table with a large, luxurious meal. Reyla was ogling the food, it simply smelt heavenly. When Sanji first had introduced himself she had felt a little puzzled, this was the first time any man had treated her like this! Reyla decided that she liked the attention she was given, and also didn't mind her new nickname.

"FOOD!"

Luffy entered the kitchen with a happy cry, prepared to eat whatever he could get his hands on.

'SLAM'

"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!" Sanji yelled as he kicked the rubber man in the face. With a smile he turned towards Reyla. "This is for neko-chan! Oh… and Nami-swaaan and Vivi-swama! I haven't forgotten you my angels!"

Nami gave him a tired look and took her place at the table. The others entered one by one, only Usopp was absent as he had quite eagerly volunteered for lookout. Vivi was especially weary around the girl, even though Reyla's attention was all focused on the food. The yellow eyed girl started eating at an even pace, enjoying every bite she took.

A few minutes passed by and little to no words were passed among the crew. When the hollow feeling disappeared from Reyla's stomach she started looking at her newfound nakama.

"So…" she began, gaining their attention. "What are your names? Leapos Reyla is my name, as you know. I already know Sanji-kun, Chopper-kun and Luffy-kun by now. I presume you are the chef Sanji-kun." she gave him a smile and bowed her head. "*Gochisousama deshita, your food was delicious!"

The blond cook gave her a kind smile and went back to washing dishes, but kept listening to their conversation with interest.

"Well, it appears that you have officially joined our crew. There is no refusing our captain's orders!" Nami paused. She wasn't trying to be particularly hostile, she just didn't know how to take this new arrival. After all, she was a former prisoner locked away in a heavily guarded prison, and that fact alone was enough to make Nami uneasy. Unknown to the navigator, she wasn't the only one who was tense. Zoro was keeping a close eye on Reyla's movement, should she prove to be someone they couldn't trust.

"The name is Nami, I'm the navigator of this ship." Gesturing towards her right she continued. "This here is Zoro, a swordsman."

Zoro gave the girl a slight nod in greeting, keeping a neutral expression. "The boy with the nose is Usopp, our sniper. He is currently outside keeping watch in the crow's nest. Also, the girl here is Vivi" Nami finished.

"Oh… I wasn't aware that royalty were into piracy!" Reyla exclaimed with surprise.

Her knowledge of Vivi's heritage surprised the crew, excluding Luffy who was happily munching away on whatever Reyla hadn't finished.

"How do you…" Vivi began, but left the question hanging in the air.

Reyla's round eyes fell on the princess. "My recent prison isn't that far from your homeland, Arabasta, your highness. The guards tended to gossip a lot and I heard of your disappearance. I didn't know it was to become a pirate though…" her head tilted slightly as she kept looking at Vivi.

"Well, that's not exactly the case…"

Considering that Reyla was to be a part of the Straw Hat Crew from now on, Vivi thought it reasonable to tell her the situation her country was in. Leopard ears listened intently to the story of Vivi, the continuing collapse of her kingdom, her joining Baroque Works, the death of Igaram, all leading up to this moment. When Vivi finished, Reyla could only nod in sympathy. The princess had been through a great deal!

For a short while there was silence, until…

"Umm, Reyla…"

"*Nani?" she looked to her right and found that Chopper had seated himself next to her on a wooden stool.

"I've been wondering for a while now but… have you eaten a devil fruit?" he asked carefully, as if to not offend her. Reyla smiled at the small reindeer whom she had quickly grown fond of. "Hehe… well yeah" she replied and touched her ears.

"I ate the Neko Neko no Mi, Model Ara Leopard! Zoan type I believe."

"Cool!" Luffy cheered. He skipped towards her for a closer look at her ears and tail. "It's not fully activated, is it?" Nami asked. Her knowledge of devil fruits was limited, but she knew that Zoan types were capable of fully becoming a certain animal at three different levels.

"Nah… they kind of trapped me in the armor this way. It altered the process completely!" she grumbled and scratched behind her ear. "Armor?" Vivi questioned quietly. Reyla allowed Chopper to quickly explained what he remembered of the mechanism of the armor.

"Normally, if I recall correctly, I should've returned to normal by now. However… you see… I've been stuck like this for so long that it should take me at least a few days to gain control again. I guess my body's not aware of the change yet!" she seemed to grow uncomfortable discussing this subject. Reyla didn't like to feel this weakened.

"So, how long were you in there?" Zoro bluntly asked. This was the first time he had talked her directly.

….

"I… I'm not sure! I don't even know my own age!" she replied, trying to remember.

Chopper, as a doctor, was both knowledgeable and experienced enough to determine a person's age. Her thin stature and childlike face gave her the appearance of a 14 year old, but he knew better. "By now I would say that you're about 18." he declared to both her and the rest of the crew.

"Aah… seven years then…" Reyla whispered.

"SEVEN?" Chopper squeaked. That would mean she was imprisoned at the age of 11. _Was she a horrible criminal when she was 11 years old? _

"Yes, I was young. I guess I should tell you that I was being trained to work for the World Government at the time…"

"NANI?" most of them, but not all, exclaimed.

Reyla gave a small sigh and rubbed her hands together in a nervous gesture. "I don't remember much though! I was part of a training program of some sorts that considered mostly of young children, though there were some adults participating as well. It was at a place called Ciph… Cipher Pol or something. I guess I was doing well, but there's a lot missing! I did something to get me isolated on some fake island…" her voice died away and she looked around at the crew again with a little laugh.

"I hope I'm still included in your group though, considering I was originally to work for the World Government."

"The past is the past!" Luffy suddenly burst out and gave her a wide grin. "You're our nakama now!" Reyla, to her own surprise, gave a sigh of relief.

"Well, that's true!" Nami said and finally gave Reyla a smile of her own. "It's getting late now and you'll be sharing room with me and Vivi from now on. I'm sure we can figure out sleeping arrangements somehow." she rose from her chair and both Vivi and Reyla followed. The crew said their good-nights as they exited through the door.

As Nami went to find a hammock for Reyla to sleep in, Vivi showed her where she could wash up. The princess also gave her some simple, but neat pajamas to sleep in. Thankfully, the pajamas were made of a comfortable material and covered everything excluding head, hands and feet. Reyla didn't want to show her scrawny sate to anyone at the moment.

After the first warm bath in seven years, Reyla returned to the girl's cabin in her slightly oversized pajamas. She truly cherished her newly gained comfort. When entering, Reyla noted that her two room-mates were already asleep and so she silently climbed into her hammock that was hung close to Nami's bed.

With a content sigh Reyla snuggled under her blanket and went into a dreamless, warm sleep.

* * *

**AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

***G_ochisousama_ deshita: said after every meal. It's really more like, "Thank you for the meal" or "I've enjoyed the meal, thanks."**

***Neko-chan: I guess it's meant to mean "Kitty-cat" or "little kitten"**

***Nani: it means "What?"**


End file.
